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The May Knockout Chess Championships: Ghana on The Rise

The Ghana Chess Association (GCA) is set to hold the 4th edition of the May Knockout Chess Championships at the Media Center of the Accra Sports Stadium on 5th May, 2018.

According to President of the GCA, Philip Ameku, registration for the competition has already begun with the registration fee in the region of fifty (50) GHC (for men) and thirty (30) GHC (for women). The GCA has also introduced a new online system of registration, which is aimed to avail individuals the opportunity to register from the comfort of their homes. “We are introducing a new system where people are able to register online without even needing to come to the venue on this purpose, so right at the comfort of your home, you are able to register for tournaments”, said the president. This new system will also allow competitors to find out their opponents at least a day before the competition, as the president mentioned, “You would also get to know your pairings at least a day before even coming to the tournament, which is good for those who prepare for their opponents”.

Having confirmed the appearance of the ‘Combine Harvester’, Anthony Ajavon and the National Women’s Champion, Tobi Felix, who are qualifiers for Ghana’s team going to the upcoming 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, I found out from the GCA President, Philip Ameku, that some members of the team will be unable to make the competition, as the president said, “We will have majority of them, and this is why we are bringing all these tournaments, which is meant to be good preparation for the participants. Why not all of them? Because some are not in the country, but all those who are around will play.”

Tobi FelixAnthony Ajavon

With the rise in participation in the sport, President Philip Ameku is expecting an increase from 2017’s 19 participants. “We expect a bigger number than the previous edition, this is a knockout tournament, it is unique and it holds just once a year, so we anticipate that people would wish to participate”. He went on to explain the manner of organization that the competition would take, “The first four (4) rounds will be like a league format, were players will be seeded into four (4) groups. After the four (4) rounds, the top two (2) in each group will qualify for the knockout phases.”